Another historic day for Shannon

This Friday is a yet another red letter day in the history of Shannon Airport.

The Shannon Group plc has been formally established by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe.

The new company will be a key conduit for growth across the West of Ireland and beyond, its chairman Rose Hynes stated. She said that the four strategic business units that make up the Shannon Group will co-exist within the group, elevating the business into a single entity of significant regional and national importance.

The Shannon Group plc brings together:

· Shannon Airport, the only airport on the Atlantic seaboard serving all three key markets – the US, UK and Europe – and which has already achieved significant growth following its establishment as an independent company in January 2013

· Shannon Commercial Enterprises Limited, trading as Shannon Commercial Properties, which includes the Shannon Free Zone and a significant property portfolio across the Shannon region

· One of Ireland’s largest visitor experience operators Shannon Heritage, complete with six castles and various other day and evening visitor attractions

· The International Aviation Services Centre (IASC), which builds on the activities of over 40 existing aviation companies already located in the region.

“The Shannon Group plc is a dynamic commercial semi-state company with a very significant role in stimulating growth across the wider region. The Group has a wide footprint, with Shannon Airport serving a region that stretches from Cork right up to the North West, and in that regard has both regional and national significance,” said Ms Hynes.

“The Government has delivered this new entity and we now embark with great enthusiasm on a journey that will present many opportunities. The work now begins to maximise those opportunities for the greater good of the region.”

Shannon Group CEO, Neil Pakey said, “We start out as a Group on a positive footing thanks to the growth achieved at Shannon Airport since it was made independent. Last year we halted five years of successive decline and this year expects to achieve double digit growth.